Presenting the show to the live arena audience plus the millions more watching on TV will be Gary Lineker, Gabby Logan and Clare Balding.

Holywood golfer Rory McIlroy, runner up for Sports Personality of the Year 2014, said: “I think Belfast has shown over the past few years that it can hold massive events like the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. We have the facilities like the Odyssey Arena which hosted the MTV music awards. I think it will be huge, Belfast has been crying out for events like this, and in the years since the Millennium Belfast has grown into a really vibrant city.”

Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport said: “We’re delighted to be bringing Sports Personality to Belfast, something we have wanted to do for a long time. The city, and Northern Ireland as whole, is home to so many sporting legends and steeped in sporting history, not to mention its worldwide reputation for a welcome second to none. We’re looking forward to a truly spectacular show.”

Belfast Lord Mayor, Cllr Arder Carson,added: “This is a great coup for our city and further enhances our reputation as a great venue for high quality, high profile events.

“Belfast, as it always does, will roll out the welcome mat - and we look forward to the positive outcomes this will undoubtedly bring."

Tickets will go on sale later on in the year from the Odyssey Arena Box Office.

The evening is a chance for the public to share the experience with the stars before crowning their Sports Personality of the Year, through a public vote. Last year’s show, watched by just under 9 million people on BBC One, saw Lewis Hamilton win the coveted title at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow.

Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster said: “Northern Ireland is building a global reputation as the home of great events, which makes it only fitting that the BBC should bring its Sports Personality of the Year Awards to Belfast. The hugely anticipated event will once again raise the profile of Northern Ireland to an audience of millions, as well as providing a significant boost to the local economy.”